In recent years, a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect element formed of a multilayer film with a ferromagnetic layer and a nonmagnetic metal layer, and a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) effect element or a ferromagnetic spin tunnel junction (MTJ) element formed of a ferromagnetic layer, an insulator layer, and a ferromagnetic layer have been focused upon as a new magnetic field sensor and a nonvolatile random access magnetic memory (MRAM) element.
As the giant magnetoresistive effect element, a giant magnetoresistive effect element having a Current In Plane (CIP) structure of a type in which a current flows in a plane, and a giant magnetoresistive effect element having a Current Perpendicular to the Plane (CPP) structure of a type in which a current flows in a direction perpendicular to a film plane as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-218428 are known. The principle of the giant magnetoresistive effect element is based on spin-dependent dispersion at the interface between the magnetic layer and the nonmagnetic layer and generally, the giant magnetoresistive effect element having a CPP structure has a larger magnetoresistive effect than the giant magnetoresistive effect element having a CIP structure.